Eye of the Heart Drops 35% Permanently as Ex-GTA Producer's Game Stumbles

Heart's Eye, developed with former GTA producer Leslie Benzies involved, has announced a permanent price cut—standard edition drops from ¥198 to ¥129 (35% off), the first major discount since its June 2025 launch. The deluxe edition falls from ¥268 to ¥163, a 39% reduction.

The discount arrives late. Post-launch reception collapsed: Metacritic media average sits at 38, IGN scored it 4/10. I bought in for the producer pedigree, abandoned after 30 hours—the open world feels hollow. Red Stone City's sprawling map offers minimal interactive elements, traversal relies entirely on foot travel.

Combat proves disastrous. Retired soldier Jacob Diaz makes a compelling premise, but execution is tedious—enemy AI behaves like stationary targets, lacking even turn-based strategy depth. Bugs compound the problem: I hit three progression blocks, two requiring full restarts.

At ¥129 standard or ¥163 deluxe, the cuts are aggressive. Still, I'd wait for Steam sales or skip entirely. Hollow content, poor performance, flashy but shallow visuals—these three criticisms capture the experience. The near-future desert city setting had potential, wasted on flawed execution.